Join Counterbalance Brewing For A Fall Equinox Celebration

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Counterbalance Belgian Golden Strong Ale

People are sometimes confused by the location of Counterbalance Brewing Company.  Based on the name most locals assume, understandably, that they would be in or near the Queen Anne neighborhood.  They are not.  Counterbalance is, in the West end of Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood.  They went with the Counterbalance name because that’s where founders Frank Lawrence and Jeff Howell grew up.

Now that you know where they are, why not come for a visit this weekend and help them welcome the return of Fall?  Coming up this Sunday the 24th, Counterbalance Brewing will host a release party for their Oktoberfestbier and Fresh Hop Ale.  Come join them for these two new releases while watching the Seattle Seahawks beat the Tennessee Titans.

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Firestone Walker Announces Inferos – The Next Beer In The Leo v. Ursus Series

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Firestone Walker Brewing Company has two different series’ of IPAs going right now.  First is the Luponic Distortion Series, which is currently in its 7th iteration (featuring Australian hops), and then, of course, they have the Leo v. Ursus Series.  Both series take an experimental approach, and they allow Firestone Walker to be constantly coming out with something new and unique – which is the industry trend these days.  Innovate or be left behind.

Luponic Distortion Revolution No. 007 arrived just last month and now, Firestone Walker is ready to bring us the next iteration in the Leo v. Ursus Series: Inferos.  An unfiltered Rye IPA that’s absolutely jam packed with over 4.7 pounds of Galaxy (and other) hops per barrel, Inferos sounds like a rye loving hop head’s dream.  I’ve always been a big fan of beers with rye in the malt bill and Inferos has an almost unheard of 25% rye in the malt bill.  With all that rye and all those hops, this sounds like a beer I’ll really enjoy.

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Brother Barrel Hosts Pucker Up: Washington

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Are you a fan of sour ales and sour ciders?  Not everyone is.  I wasn’t always a fan of sours.  Ten years ago, the very idea seemed odd to me.  Why would I want a sour beer, I thought to myself?  Then again, most people don’t consider bitter a flavor they seek out, yet IPA is the most popular style of craft beer around (even before they style became flooded with murky, ‘juicy’ IPAs that taste more like citrus juice).

As with many things, the enjoyment of sour ales can be an acquired taste.  Elliott Bay Brewing‘s Brother Barrel location understand this and would like to give you the opportunity to taste a few of their own sours, along with sour ales and ciders from other local local producers.  They’ll all be coming together at Brother Barrel one week from today for their first ever special event: Pucker Up: Washington.

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The 2017 Fresh Hops Festival Is Coming Up In October

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Fresh Hop Season is upon us.  The first few Fresh Hop beers have already arrived and we’ll be seeing many more Fresh Hop releases in the coming weeks.  With so many Fresh Hop beers to try, it would be nice to have a single place where you can try a bunch of them at once.  Thankfully, the Seattle Fresh Hops Festival returns next month.

Packed to the brim with Fresh Hop beers from all across Washington, the 2017 Seattle Fresh Hop Festival is a dream come true for all you serious hop heads out there.

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Ninkasi Releases Green Haze Fresh Hop Pale Ale

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What’s that you say?  Another Fresh Hop announcement?  Well what did you expect?  After all, it is Fresh Hop season, quite possibly the most wonderful time of the year (move over, Christmas!)  I’ve already told you about Two Beers‘ (CBM Sponsor) Fresh Hop IPA and Fremont Brewing‘s lineup of Fresh Hop Ales for this year.  Now, Ninkasi Brewing Company has announced the release of their 2017 Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Green Haze.

Brewed with over 400 pounds of Centennial Hops fresh off the bine at Goschie Farms (less than 2 hours from hop field to brew kettle!), Green Haze is about as fresh as you can get and should bring those grassy, Earthy notes you’d expect from a well made Centennial Fresh Hop Pale.

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Cease & Desist IPA Returns For The 2017/18 Seahawks Season From Foggy Noggin Brewing

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Football season has returned, much to the delight of NFL fans everywhere and especially Seahawks fans right here in Seattle.  After sweeping the pre-season 4 – 0, the ‘Hawks are ready to take on the challenge of making their way towards Superbowl LII (that’s 52 for those of you who aren’t up on your Roman numerals), and they’re going to need the help of you 12’s.

Of course, to cheer the Seahawks on properly, you’re going to need some good game-day beer. Sure, Marshawn Lynch is with the Oakland Raiders now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy a beer inspired by Lynch’s time with the ‘Hawks.  That’s why Foggy Noggin Brewing Company is bringing back their popular football season brew: Cease & Desist IPA (Formerly 12th Man Skittles IPA – but I trust you see the legal issues he ran into there(?)).

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Harvestfest Happens This Month In SoDo

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Can you have too many craft beer festivals?  It’s a quiet, behind-the-scenes type of debate here in the Northwest where breweries and craft beer festivals are plentiful.  We have so many annual festivals that some attendees and some breweries can sometimes get festival fatigue.  Those on the other side of the coin argue that there can’t be too much of a good thing and any reason one can find to create a new craft beer festival should be taken advantage of.

I can understand the viewpoint on both sides of this debate but I figure, as long as all these festivals can still find enough interested craft beer lovers to attend, then we’ll keep getting more.  With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to the Seattle Harvestfest, which will be coming to Utah Avenue South next Thursday, September 14th.  Brought to you by Cask Creek Productions, this festival is a celebration of all the Fall/Harvest season styles we all enjoy.

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Beard And Bine Arrives This Friday From The Lagunitas Seattle Tap Room & Beer Sanctuary

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Back in late July, I told you about a special brew day I attended at the Lagunitas Seattle Taproom & Beer Sanctuary. I joined Lagunitas and a whole host of their hop and barley farming partners to brew what would become the first Seattle exclusive beer to come out of the brewery since they took over their space in Ballard from Hilliard’s.

From what I could tell, this was a rather experimental brew with no strictly set recipe.  In the end, it wound up including Caliente, Ron Mexico, and Galaxy hops, giving it a burst of tropical brightness on top of a smooth, blonde, 2-row malted barley backbone.

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Field To Ferment Fresh Hop Pale Ale (Centennial) Arrives Today From Fremont Brewing

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It’s harvest time up in the Yakima Valley, the #1 hop growing region in the World.  Our proximity to the hop fields of Yakima Valley means that the Northwest, particularly Washington State, is in a prime location to enjoy one of the best benefits for craft beer lovers this time of year: Fresh Hop Ales.

As has become the norm, Two Beers Brewing Company (CBM Sponsor) was first out of the gate, releasing their Fresh Hop IPA back on August 23rd.  Now, Fremont Brewing Company is ready to release the first of their Fresh Hop Ales for 2017.  Field To Ferment Fresh Hop Pale Ale (each release featuring Centennial, Amarillo and Citra hops respectively) arrives today, 9/6, in Fremont’s Urban Beer Garden.

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Flocktoberfest Returns From Black Raven Brewing Company

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It’s still nice and hot out there, but the end of Summer is right around the corner.  That means it’s harvest time, which also means it’s time for Fall Seasonals to start arriving.  In the Great Northwest that means Fresh Hop beers (the first few are just starting to arrive now), but it also means other Fall Seasonals, including the Märzen/Oktoberfest style.

Black Raven Brewing Company (CBM Sponsor) brews several tasty Seasonal beers including Beak Tweaker Citrus IPA, Frost Beak Winter Lager and Hochzeit Pilsner.  Right now, however, it’s time for their popular Fall Seasonal: Flocktoberfest Lager.

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